(Newser)
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Apple's Siri can help you order take-out, give you directions, or just make you laugh—but not if she can't understand you. Scottish iPhone 4S owners are finding that the voice-controlled digital assistant has a hard time deciphering their signature brogue, the Los Angeles Times reports. In a demonstration for a journalist, one Scot asked Siri, "What's the weather like today?" What she heard: "What's available in Labor Day?" ("I don't even know what Labor Day is," the Scot sighed.)

Siri does have a language setting for "English (United Kingdom)," but even fellow Brits have been known to find Scots difficult to understand. Since Siri's Scottish problem was discovered, a few demonstration videos have been posted on YouTube (watch one at left). Even so, the new iPhone is a top seller in the country. And Apple insists that Siri is still being fine-tuned, and its performance will improve the more it is used. "Once you've been using it for a while, it should pick up your accent," says the Scot who gave the demonstration. "But if you've got a broad accent, you've got no chance." (Siri will soon learn Mandarin.)

Many (many!) years ago, when I was a teen and traveling in Scotland, I found myself translating for two tourists from Alabama and a Highland Scot from whom they were trying to get driving directions. There was no way they were ever going to understand each other, but I could almost make out what each was saying. Very funny. Good luck, Siri.